Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26877857›Full record

ArticleIranian journal of basic medical sciences2015

Cholesterol suppresses antimicrobial effect of statins.

Mohammad Reza Haeri, Kenneth White, Mohammad Qharebeglou, Malek Moein Ansar

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Iranian journal of basic medical sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Statins, Allies against Antibiotic Resistance?Current medicinal chemistry · 2025
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. In vitro antibacterial effects of statins against bacterial pathogens causing skin infections.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2018
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Is There Potential for Repurposing Statins as Novel Antimicrobials?Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2016
    Review
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Mohammad Reza HaeriDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran; Institute for Health Research and Policy, London Metropolitan University, London, United Kingdom.
Kenneth WhiteInstitute for Health Research and Policy, London Metropolitan University, London, United Kingdom.
Mohammad QharebeglouIslamic azad university, Qom branch, Qom-Iran.
Malek Moein AnsarDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.
Guilan University of Medical Sciences · IRLondon Metropolitan University · GBQom Islamic Azad University · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesIsoprenoid biosynthesis is a key metabolic pathway to produce a wide variety of biomolecules such as cholesterol and carotenoids, which target cell membranes. On the other hand, it has been reported that statins known as inhibitors of isoprenoid biosynthesis and cholesterol lowering agents, may have a direct antimicrobial effect on the some bacteria. The exact action of statins in microbial metabolism is not clearly understood. It is possible that statins inhibit synthesis or utilization of some sterol precursor necessary for bacterial membrane integrity. Accordingly, this study was designed in order to examine if statins inhibit the production of a compound, which can be used in the membrane, and whether cholesterol would replace it and rescue bacteria from toxic effects of statins. MATERIALS AND

methodsTo examine the possibility we assessed antibacterial effect of statins with different classes; lovastatin, simvastatin, and atorvastatin, alone and in combination with cholesterol on two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis) and two Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) bacteria using gel diffusion assay.

resultsOur results showed that all of the statins except for lovastatin had significant antibacterial property in S. aureus, E. coli, and Enter. faecalis. Surprisingly, cholesterol nullified the antimicrobial action of effective statins in statin-sensitive bacteria.

conclusionIt is concluded that statins may deprive bacteria from a metabolite responsible for membrane stability, which is effectively substituted by cholesterol.

Indexed as

BacteriaHydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme AStatinSterol

Identifiers

PMID26877857
PMCPMC4744367
OpenAlexW2225372162

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.